


Playdate

by IShipItAllAndThenSome



Series: Slow-Burning Laser Eyes [3]
Category: Supergirl
Genre: Badass Lena Luthor, Big Sister Maggie Sawyer, Caring Lena Luthor, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Sanvers, Engaged Sanvers, F/F, Feelings, Found Family, Hurt Kara Danvers, Hurt/Comfort, Lena Luthor & Maggie Sawyer Friendship, Lena Luthor Is Emotionally Repressed, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, Maggie Sawyer Gives Advice, Mild Gore, Pining, Sharing a Bed, alien attack, superhero origin story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 00:05:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12157551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IShipItAllAndThenSome/pseuds/IShipItAllAndThenSome
Summary: Gertrude gets a new best friend; Supergirl gets a new sidekick.





	Playdate

**Author's Note:**

> After the page break, there's a scene in which aliens attack downtown National City. A woman is injured; there's mild descriptions of blood. If that's going to be an issue, once you read the line "Inside was the girl's mom," hit control/command F and search "you can come back, it's okay." The scene is over by then; it's just Lena wrapping her up. I'll include a description of the events between the break and that phrase in the end notes.

The dog park near Maggie and Alex’s apartment was open godawful early, just like the yoga studio they insisted they hated going to.

(They had personalized Hers & Hers yoga mats. Come on.)

That meant there was a time slot of about three hours when no one was around so Gertrude and Jeanne could play and no one would make the new baby’s secret identity - no drunk people having sex on the benches at three in the morning and no unaware dog owners whose tiny Morkie mix would probably need therapy if they played with Ms. b’Ark.

Gertrude was a sweetheart, especially considering where she’d been rescued from. It had taken her a while to get comfortable around men, even Winn, who was about as intimidating as a Halloween Peep, but for some reason, even though Jeanne could turn her to dust by playing too hard, she never had a problem with the Kryptonian puppy. If anything, she’d practically adopted Jeanne, treating her like pack right off the bat. Gertrude would take point in any interaction, even with stray squirrels, and Jeanne seemed happy to follow her around, tail wagging so hard she generated a slipstream effect whenever someone so much as said _Gert_.

It was cute.

Hell, it was downright adorable.

Lena, sunglasses crooked on her nose, gulped down a too-big mouthful of iced black coffee and tried not to wince at the immediate brain freeze while watching her baby play tug-of-war with Gertrude by floating away from her while the Shepherd kept the grip of her leash in her jaw.

“Superdog’s doing pretty well, huh?” Maggie asked, sitting beside her with a sigh. She handed over a cinnamon raisin bagel, barely toasted and with too much cream cheese, before starting in on her own Maillard-reacted monstrosity.

“Does everyone call her that?” Lena took a bite and licked cream cheese off her thumb. “She has a perfectly reasonable name.”

“You and Alex are terrible at naming dogs.” Maggie dusted a lapful of crumbs to the ground and leaned back. “I should’ve fought her on Gertrude. That dog deserves a proper dog name, like…”

“Danny?”

“She had green eyes and black and white fur. What was I supposed to do, _not_ name her after the ghost boy?”

Lena snorted and took another long sip. “Fair enough.”

“You watched Danny Phantom as a kid?”

“What’s so weird about that?”

Maggie crunched into her bagel, chewing thoughtfully. She finally swallowed and said, “I just can’t imagine Lillian allowing cartoons.”

“Oh, she didn’t. My classmates at school watched TV, though, and let me tell you, Sam Manson was a revelation. _All_ of the girl characters were.”

Humming appreciatively, Maggie closed her eyes. “Ugh. It’s too goddamn early for this shit.”

“You came here from yoga, you’re not allowed to complain.”

“Did you even wake up to come here?” Maggie retorted. She opened one eye with casual laziness.

Something in Lena’s chest went all warm and fuzzy at the realization that Maggie was checking up on her. “Yeah, actually. Ms. b’Ark even dragged me to bed at a semi-reasonable hour.”

“Good.” Maggie’s eye went back to being closed, and she smiled softly. “I’m taking that literally, by the way.”

“You should. She almost broke my laptop.”

Maggie laughed. “She’s a good dog, huh.”

“Yeah. I’m glad she crash-landed here. I just hope Superman isn’t angry that I stole his dog.”

“To hear Alex tell it, his apartment is a shoebox. He doesn’t have space for the poor baby the size she is now, let alone when she grows up.” Maggie twisted up her mouth and sighed.

Alex was out of town.

Kara, too.

There was some sighting of Maaldorians - in Australia, of all places, and while the wildlife might take care of them by itself, the DEO had to dispatch a team. Kara had actually fought Maaldorians, and Alex was one of their best agents, so it made sense to ship them both off, but they were dearly missed.

“They’ll be fine,” Lena said, fingers tight enough around her bagel that it squirted cream cheese onto her lap. “Goddamnit.”

“It’s not like you were going to wear Kara’s pants to work today, anyways, right?” Maggie ribbed.

Cheeks pink, Lena scooped up the spill and stuck her finger into her mouth, resolutely not answering.

“Oh, come on.” Maggie knocked their shoulders together playfully. “I, of all people, know the power of a Danvers woman. I’m marrying one in October.”

Lena’s cheeks were practically lava flows. 

“I mean, what self-respecting lesbian hasn’t had a crush on the Blonde Blockbuster?”

“I’m telling Alex you had a crush on her baby sister.”

“Don’t you _dare._ ”

“And I’m telling Kara, too.”

“I mean it, Luthor, don’t say a word.” Maggie gestured emphatically with her bagel. “It’s a rite of passage! There’s not a baby gay on this big blue marble that hasn’t had a thought about one Kryptonian or another - it’s practically gay law.”

Lena flicked the bagel, dislodging a spray of charred sesame seeds, and pulled her feet up onto the bench. Maggie retreated, but there was a hint of smugness playing about her smile that meant she hadn’t seen defeat.

“Okay, so maybe - _maybe_ \- I can… _appreciate_ that Kara is a physically attractive person. And, yes, she has an incredible personality. She’s clever and kind and funny and so, so noble, and she’s always believed in me. She always believes the best of people, and she’s so willing to help, and she gave me a freaking superpowered dog just so I’d be safe, and she has the most beautiful smile and abs for days, but I do not. Do. Not. Have a crush on her.”

Maggie’s grin grew.

“I don’t! She’s my best friend.”

Somehow, it grew even wider.

“Wipe that satisfied smirk off your face, Maggie, I’m serious.”

Halfway across the park, Jeanne tried to pick up a sapling to play fetch. She couldn’t quite get a grip on the slim, slippery trunk, but Gertrude seemed entertained by her efforts.

“Okay! Okay, sure, Kara’s just your gorgeous best friend who you’ll wax rhapsodic on, who you cuddle with, who white knights you at every opportunity, who bought you matching pajamas - ”

“Is that not a normal friend thing?” 

Maggie stopped and looked at her, eyes wide.

“Is it?”

“Oh,” she sighed, “kiddo.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know that? I haven’t had friends before! I don’t know what the protocol is!” With a huff, Lena crossed her arms, burying her chin in her knees. “Of course, I have a fucking crush on her, Maggie, I have eyes and I’ve been around her for longer than two seconds, but it’s… It’s not just a crush. I really care about her. If she needs me to be her friend, that’s all I want to be.”

Maggie stayed perfectly still for a moment, then flopped dramatically against the back of the bench so hard her spine popped and let out the longest, most exasperated groan, hand flung over her face.

Gertrude let out a whine, looking her mom’s way, and seconds later came an almighty _rip._  

Jeanne had ripped the tree up turning to look at them.

“Oh - no, Jeanne, put that - put that back!”

Jeanne dropped the tree.

_“Goddamnit.”_

With a groan, Lena pushed to her feet and jogged over. Luckily, the tree was a tiny new transplant, so it wasn’t too heavy to lift, and Jeanne repentantly nudged dirt back onto the roots, nosing at Lena’s kneecap. 

“Oh, I know,” she murmured, kneeling to scratch behind her ear. “I know, nugget, you’re a good girl anyway.”

Jeanne whuffled and licked her arm, and Lena couldn’t help but grin. She planted a kiss on her puppy’s forehead and stood up, leash in hand.

“Will you play nice and not destroy any more public property?”

_Boof!_

“Not making any promises, huh?”

_Boof!_

“Okay. Half an hour, and then we’re going to work.”

_Boof!_

Lena walked back over to the bench and flung herself down with a sigh. “Your dog is a bad influence.”

“Yeah, and it looks like it runs in the family.” Maggie shifted onto her hip, staring Lena down. “You seriously think Kara just wants you as a friend?”

Lena picked up her abandoned coffee and took a sip, only to find it empty. “Ugh.”

“C’mon,” Maggie drawled, “use your words like a big girl.”

“One hundred and seventy six.”

“What?”

“That’s how many times she’s said, or done, something so immensely meaningful and then said _that’s what friends are for._ ” Lena sighed. “Or something along those lines. And right now… she needs friends. Support. She’s lost so much. I want to be there for her.”

Maggie wrinkled her nose. “You’re so well-intentioned and self-sacrificing, my god, it’s like talking to one of them.”

“Didn’t you sanitize your own coming out story so Alex would feel safer?”

“…Like you wouldn’t have done the same thing.”

“Oh, in a heartbeat, but I got outed way too early and way too publicly to give _that_ a shot.”

Maggie huffed a laugh. “I’m going to tell you what I’ve told Alex time and time again, what she’s come back and told me: you deserve to be happy, too.”

“I am happy,” Lena said, jaw tight. “Jeanne - nugget, don’t light the tree on fire!”

_Boof?_

“Eyes off! Eyes off!”

Thankfully, nothing actually caught fire, and nobody saw a fourteen pound ball of pure white fluff flying through the air and firing laser beams from her puppy eyes, but Lena was glad for the distraction. 

Actually admitting that she had feelings for Kara, out loud, felt weird - cathartic and crushing at the same time. Maggie was easy to talk to, and too perceptive for Lena’s comfort, because she didn’t _want_ to admit it. She didn’t want to have to face it. Being Kara’s best friend, who poisoned her (admittedly awful) boyfriend, who walked their dog with her, who promised to smuggle cream puffs into the Wonder Woman documentary with her when she came back from her mission - that was easy, and it felt good, and it made them both happy. Addressing those feelings would be messy and uncomfortable and run the risk of rejection or getting hurt or, worse still, hurting Kara. 

 _Fuck feelings_ , she thought back in her office, absently rubbing Jeanne’s belly. _She may be the Girl of Steel, but I’m made of ice._

Kara came back from Australia late that night, something caked in her hair, and gave Lena an equator sunshine hug, smelling like ocean air and cold wind, and Lena cried like a baby.

There hadn’t been anything on the news. Lena usually avoided watching it, because she hated hearing about herself, but whenever Kara was on a mission or fighting some monster, she watched, because she needed to know Kara was okay. 

This mission had been top secret - no coverage.

Kara had been gone for three straight days, and seeing her again was like being punched in the face by just how much she meant.

So, yeah, Lena cried. She cried and she clutched at Kara’s cape and growled wetly, “Don’t you _ever_ go dark that long again.”

“I won’t.” Kara stroked her hair, rubbed her back. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” Lena sniffled, pulling back just to look at her. Any injuries she’d accrued would have healed on the flight over, invisible to the human eye if not totally gone, but she needed to check. “Jeanne did, too.”

“Yeah? Superdog missed me?”

Lena nodded, fingers sliding down Kara’s shoulders and wrapping around her biceps. “I’m surprised she didn’t wake up. I guess she tired herself out playing with Gertrude.”

“I know that feeling,” Kara groaned, stretching her neck. Lena’s mouth went dry, but Kara didn’t seem to notice. “Can I, um.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I sleep here tonight?”

“Yeah, of course.” Lena’s hand completed the trip down Kara’s arm and wrapped around Kara’s, fingers braiding together. Brow furrowed, she asked, “Did the mission go okay?”

Kara never asked for stuff like that. They slept at each other’s places all the time, but it was never Kara asking. It was always _for_ something - movie night, game night, someone threatening Lena’s life - and it was always Lena asking or Kara insisting.

“Mm.” 

Kara followed Lena into her bedroom, holding her hand and swaying just a little. 

“Don’t fall asleep just yet,” Lena murmured, squeezing her hand to get her attention. “Okay?”

“‘m awake.”

“I know, but I need you to _stay_ awake, Kara.”

Kara nodded. She didn’t start drifting while Lena dug around for something she could sleep in. Eventually, she scrounged up a pair of L Corp shorts and an MIT pullover, and walked Kara into the bathroom, perching her on the lid of the toilet so she could rinse the goo of unknown origin out. Every so often, Kara would sigh at the feel of Lena’s fingers over her scalp, and after about five minutes, she began to talk.

“We thought they were foot soldiers,” she murmured. “For the Daxamites. They have a long-standing business relationship and they’ve come here on their behalf before.”

Lena remembered; her hand settled on the join between Kara’s neck and shoulder and gently squeezed.

“They were, um. They were… collecting.” Kara’s shoulders tensed; Lena could almost hear her forehead crinkling. “It was a mess, but we got everyone out okay.”

“I’m proud of you,” said Lena softly. “You did good, and I’m so, _so_ proud.”

Kara let out a sigh, head tilting back. She blinked slowly up at Lena and, after a moment, said, “Thank you, Lena. That means a lot.”

Lena bent forward and kissed her forehead, combing through the last clots and knots. When she straightened up, she swallowed, and said, “C’mon. Out of your suit.”

Kara cleared her throat and pushed to her feet hard enough to crack the lid of the toilet tank. “Crap.”

“It’s fine,” Lena reassured her, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “You’re tired. Let’s just get you to bed, okay?”

Nodding, Kara reached back under her cape and undid the hidden zipper. As she stepped out of her suit, Lena passed over her borrowed sleep clothes and had to white knuckle the worn cotton at what she saw.

There were great, jagged gashes in the fabric of her suit. In the dark, half-awake and wholly frenzied, Lena hadn’t noticed the damage. 

Kara’s shoulders rounded, hunching in, like she could hear the cogs turning in Lena’s head, so Lena shut the cogs down and chucked the suit into her hamper, handing Kara the clothes.

 _No blood, no foul,_ Lena thought, steadying herself. _She’s already healed. She’s okay._

Kara bent, stepping into the shorts, and Lena couldn’t help but stare at her back. There was no scarring, no bruising, no inflammation or redness. She stood back up, shoulders rippling as she pulled the sweatshirt on, and then her skin was covered, and any damage there was hidden from Lena’s eyes.

“Do you need to eat something?”

Kara shrugged, the gesture so small as to be almost invisible, and said, “Probably. I’m too tired to think straight right now, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. You saved the day, you’re allowed to be tired.”

They padded out of the bathroom on quiet feet, but they must have been louder than Lena thought, because Jeanne was awake, and she traipsed after them, nosing at Kara’s loosely curled hand and dragging a thick wool blanket behind her.

“Hey, baby,” Kara cooed, scratching the bridge of her nose. “Good to see you.”

_Boof._

“Who’s my good girl, huh? Who’s my best baby?”

Lena gave Kara a gentle nudge, pushing her into a kitchen chair, and wrapped the blanket around her. Jeanne hopped into Kara’s lap and licked her chin, burrowing into her arms, insisting upon being cuddled and petted. Kara’s shoulders loosened once she started to comply, and a weight lifted off Lena that she hadn’t known was there, freeing her up to start cooking.

When she opened her fridge, she was hit with another reminder of just how deeply entrenched Kara was in her life. Foods she didn’t eat - white pasta, Cheddar cheese - were in her kitchen, because they were easy to refuel with after a fight and because Kara liked them. 

A smoothie was probably a smart idea, because it was a lot of nutrients in a convenient package, but the noise might be a lot to handle just then, so she ended up settling on oatmeal. One canister of quick oats went into a pot with whole milk spiked with chocolate protein powder, and she pulled out some pecans to toss in at the end because the look on Kara’s face begged comfort food. While the pot heated, she poured Kara a glass of water and put it in her peripheral vision. “You should drink something, too.”

Kara drank.

Once the oatmeal was finished, she considered dumping it into a bowl for about half a second before setting it on the table next to Kara’s elbow with a spoon. “Want some fruit in that?”

“Do you have cherries?”

“Yeah, and blueberries and raspberries, fresh, dried, and frozen.”

“Can I have some?”

“Of course.”

Lena pulled out the fruit - frozen, because it would melt in and cool the oatmeal down to a temperature that Kara’s body wouldn’t have to work to mete out - and poured some in. On impulse, she pulled out whipped cream, and she was happy she did. Kara laughed, just a little, at the sight of the can.

“I didn’t know they made organic whipped topping,” she teased.

“They make everything, sunshine. Say when.”

After about the whole can, Kara said, “When,” and dug in. Lena sat down next to her, knees brushing, and squirted the last of it into her mouth. The time it took to do that was about as much time as Kara needed to finish her food, so she put the pot in the sink to wash in the morning and, together, she and Jeanne ferried Kara off to bed.

“Do you need some privacy?” Lena asked, fidgeting with her fingers.

Kara reached out and grabbed her hands. “Stay. Please.”

Lena was silent for a moment, and Kara’s grip faltered.

“If you want.”

“I do.”

Lena climbed in beside her, and let herself be pulled into Kara’s arms, head resting on her chest - just over her heart. Jeanne hopped up, curling into the space between them, and whuffled sleepily when Kara started to pet her with long, lazy strokes.

“Goodnight, Kara.”

“Goodnight, Lena.” Kara yawned. “Thank you for letting me stay. I just - I didn’t want to sleep alone.”

“You’re always welcome here,” murmured Lena, fingers curling into the collar of Kara’s sweatshirt. “My home is yours, whenever you want it, whenever you need it.”

Kara didn’t reply, only wrapping her arm around Lena’s shoulders a little tighter.

☀︎

Two days later, the Maaldorians arrived with backup. 

Imagine the Nemean lion had babies with Cerberus, then paint it dark blue and give it jellyfish tentacles for a mane and poisonous barbs on its tail.

Not fun.

The DEO was out in full force with the NCPD, cordoning off the battlefield and keeping civilians clear of the darts flying off that kitty as well as ray gun blasts and falling buildings. 

L Corp was bomb proof, fireproof - just about everything-proof - so Lena had security usher in everyone in a five block radius to get them to safety. It got so bad, people were falling into fistfights just to get inside.

_“Help! My mommy!”_

Jeanne barked, puppy eyes urgently peering through the throng. 

“Go get her,” Lena said, and Ms. b’Ark took off, super-speeding through the crowd. Her leash still wrapped around Lena’s wrist, she had no choice but to follow, ducking and weaving and nearly getting hit with a brick. 

In the middle of the street, a 2005 Subaru was trapped under a fallen telephone pole, wires sparking. The window had broken, and a little girl in - of course - a Supergirl shirt had crawled out onto the hood. Bold as brass, she was hollering her little lungs out - “My mommy’s hurt! She needs help!” - with no regard for the chaos around her.

Jeanne pulled to a short stop, sending Lena stumbling, and fired a bolt of laser vision at a falling chunk of building before it could hit the car.

Inside was the girl’s mom. One of the antenna poking off the pole had gored her pretty bad, blood oozing against dark skin, and she was pinned inside the car.

“Get Molly out of here,” she gasped. “Get her out!”

“I will,” Lena said. Her heart was pounding, blood a deafening roar in her ears. She extended a hand to the girl, Molly, and said, “Come on down. We need to get you inside.”

 _“No! No, no, no!”_ Plasma cannon fire echoed down the street. “Not without my mommy!”

“Okay. Okay, Molly, we’re going to get her, too, just - ” A bolt of light flew over their heads, narrowly missing Molly’s neat rows of braids. “Just get down, okay?”

Lip trembling, Molly grabbed Lena’s hand and got down. Jehanne licked her tearstained cheek, eliciting a tiny, fleeting smile, then proceeded to rip the door off the car with her teeth.

“She’s strong,” Molly said faintly.

“That’s Superdog,” Lena replied. 

“Like - ?”

Overhead, Supergirl cannonballed down into the barrel of the cannon, draping her cape around it. It blew, shrapnel mercifully contained, and Kara rose from the smoke unharmed.

“Yeah. They’re friends.”

Jeanne’s eyes shot lasers, slicing through the pole. Then she flew around and pulled the rest of it out of the car. 

The giant, three-headed, evil, blue space cat yowled and batted a paw their way. Lena twisted, hunching over Molly and really, really hoping for something incredible to happen so no one died.

Jeanne swung the pole at the lion like she was playing tug-of-war with Gertrude, swatting it into the blacktop.

 _That works._  
As her puppy waged war on an interstellar jungle cat of ill intent, Lena set to work getting Molly’s mom out of the car. “This is going to hurt,” she warned, bracing one hand on the seat back and gripping her shoulder with the other.

“Already does,” the woman gritted out, somehow managing a smile. She bit back a hoarse cry when Lena pulled her off the seat, prongs still buried in her shoulder. 

“We can take care of that inside,” Lena promised, helping her to her feet.

Molly yelped, “Mommy!” and wrapped herself around the woman’s leg, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I’m okay, sweetpea, we’re gonna be fine, but I need my foot, okay?”

“‘Kay.” Molly sniffled, exchanging a thigh for a hand - thankfully the one not attached to her injured shoulder. With her other hand, she grabbed for Lena, and Lena blindly took it, snatching up the discarded car door to hold over them.

She didn’t quite manage it, half-dragging it across the crosswalk with them, but once they were back on the sidewalk, security was there, fully dragging her inside. She managed to keep her grip on Molly’s hand, and there was no way in hell Molly was letting go of her mother, so they all got in with as minimal fuss as could be expected.

Inside, Lena hustled them down to the lab which, thankfully, had a hospital’s worth of supplies in its first aid kit. Molly’s mom sat down on a table, switching hands so she could hold the chunk of city infrastructure in place and stem the bleeding while still comforting her kid.

“Molly,” Lena said, cutting of the sleeve of her mom’s shirt, “I need you to look away, okay? You don’t have to let go, just - look at the corner, okay? See that doggy bed?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Superdog sleeps there sometimes.” Lena snapped on a pair of gloves. “I need you to just look at that, okay?”

“Okay.”

Molly looked, rocking on her feet. She started humming, pitchy and nervous, and her mom started humming with her, evening her out.

“I’m going to pull it out now,” Lena said quietly, pressing a wad of gauze to the back of her shoulder. 

“Last time someone said that to me, I got her,” the woman joked. Her voice hitched when Lena pulled, but she didn’t stop humming, even as she closed her eyes and clapped a hand over her mouth.

Outside, something rumbled. Molly started singing to drown it out - “Potatoes and molasses, if you want some, oh, just ask us!” - and Lena’s hands shook for a moment, but she soldiered on, sanitizing the punctures as quickly and thoroughly as she could before packing on new, clean gauze and wrapping it in place. “Once this is over,” she said, peeling off the gloves, “go to the hospital. Just to be sure.”

“I’m Anna,” said Molly’s mom. “I figured you should know, since you’ve seen inside me.”

Lena huffed a laugh. “I’m Lena.”

“I know.” Anna smiled. “I read the news.”

Lena nodded, a little unsure of how to respond, so she turned and said, “Hey, Molly?”

“ - if you can’t see ‘em, put on your glasses - ”

“Sweetpea,” Anna said gently, “you can come back, it’s okay.”

Molly stopped singing and scrambled up into Anna’s lap, clinging to her. Anna wrapped both arms around her little girl, even though it had to hurt like hell to do so, and let out a sigh, head drooping over her shoulder. 

“Oh, Molly Pollywog, I’m okay, I’m fine, sweetpea, we’re going to be okay. Supergirl’s out there with her puppy, saving the day, and we’re nice and safe in here.”

Another rumble. Molly started sobbing.

Lena sat down and closed her eyes. Kara’s suit was still a wreck, and sure, her skin was basically indestructible, but without that barrier, she was that much more likely to be destructible. 

 _I am building her a new suit,_ Lena promised, _with actual armor. Anti-Kryptonite tech built in. See if I can’t do something about that skirt, because, yeah, it’s cute, but it’s functionally bankrupt and -_

A crash. Some car alarms went off. There was a loud, _Tom and Jerry_ -esque yowl, followed by three explosions, and then everything was still.

With shaky fingers, Lena scrambled for her phone and pulled up a live newsfeed.

“ - pergirl and the unidentified flying dog have defeated the giant, um, space? Cat? And its owners. We can’t get a closer look, but the beast has been subdued and its masters are being taken into custody as we speak - ”

Onscreen, the cat was being flown off by the scruff of its neck, and Kara was carrying away a clutch of Maaldorian gunners. 

Lena turned her phone off and let out a relieved sigh. “All’s quiet on the western front,” she quipped, voice rough, and Anna laughed wetly, kissing Molly’s hair.

“See, sweetpea? All better.”

Molly sniffled, valiantly scrubbing at her eyes, and planted a loud kiss on Anna’s shoulder. _“Now,_ all better.”

Lena got them into an L Corp chopper, flown off to the nearest hospital, and watched everyone pile out into the streets once they’d been given the all clear. Once her building was effectively emptied out, she went back to her lab and started working on composite alloy textiles that could, in theory, stand up to anything.

That’s how Maggie found her two hours later.

“Hey, little Luthor.”

“Maggie.” Lena blinked. “Hi.”

“Alex and Kara are back at HQ, debriefing. I’m just here to tell you Alex says everyone’s fine, Kara says take care of yourself, and Jeanne says bark.”

“She learned her name.”

Maggie snorted. “Come on. We’re going to go get drunk and wait for our girls.”

“She’s not my - ”

“Even if you’re not dating, even if you’re not _in love,_ Kara’s your person.”

Lena acquiesced with the softest of sighs, bagged up her tablet, and followed Maggie out. She rode on the back of that motorcycle, eyes glued open and gobbling up the wreckage, all the way to a bar she’d never been to before.

“What is this place?”

“This is where we go when shit goes down from beyond the stars.”

One foot inside, and Lena considered bolting.

“Am I - am I allowed here?”

“Humans come here. I’ve been a regular for years; Winn met his girlfriend here - ”

“No, I figured, but.” Lena swallowed. “Am _I_ allowed here?”

Maggie turned and looked at her. For a moment, it seemed like she was going to say something, but then she closed her mouth and smiled. “Let’s find out.”

It was another three hours before Kara and Alex got out, but in those three hours, no one said a damned thing about the black sheep of America’s alien-hatingest family hiding out in a cracked vinyl booth, drinking the good Scotch.

They came in in civvies, Jeanne on her leash, but everyone knew who they where, what they’d been doing. 

They were greeted with the roar of a standing ovation, given drinks on the house. Maggie pushed through the throng and threw herself into her fiancée’s arms, and Alex clung to her with just as much fervor. Kara, on the other hand, let herself be swarmed for a minute before she could reach the booth. Once she was within arms’ reach, Lena wrapped her up in the tightest hug she could manage. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah. My suit’s a goner, though.”

Lena laughed wetly. “I’ll make you a new one. A better one, but don’t tell Winn I said so.”

“Cross my heart,” Kara murmured, squeezing. “My girl did good today.”

“Yeah. Jeanne took out that giant cat like it was nothing.”

_Boof!_

“Right.” Kara swallowed, throat clicking. “She really earned the nickname.”

“Maybe I should make her a cape, too.”

Judging by the morning’s headlines, she would have to.

**Author's Note:**

> A fallen telephone pole crashed through the roof of the car. Some of the grip prongs punctured the driver's shoulder; her name is Anna. Jeanne laser visions off most of the pole so she can get out of the car. Lena helps her and her daughter, Molly, inside L Corp and patches Anna up. Lena has Molly look away while she works on Anna, and Molly sings Potatoes and Molasses from Over the Garden Wall to drown out the battle outside and distract herself. Anna is very brave through the whole procedure, and cracks a joke before introducing herself. Lena gives her name in response, and Anna doesn't go all "Oh, no! A Luthor!" which is a little confounding to Lena, because she's not used to neutral reactions to her last name.
> 
> So, yeah. I couldn't make it a damn day without posting, and I couldn't keep it fluffy and light. Upside, the fake dating starts next installment! Yay!


End file.
